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Scooby Doo, Where Were You?

Honestly, I really wanted to put off posting until I'd graduated/gotten a job/had actual news to report. The fact of the matter is that I don't think that's exactly wise. Mostly because this is sort of therapy for me and to avoid it might actually be a bad thing on El Braino. So, here we go:

*Sexual Assault and the Evil Myspace (not that one has much to do with the other) and the End of Relationships As We Know It:

Since January of this year, four girl friends of mine have been sexually assaulted in some manner. Whether by someone they thought was a close friend, a stranger, an awkward situation gone awry, or just plain rape, this is insanely disturbing. It is said that one in three women have been raped or sexually assaulted. That is even more insanely disturbing. How does this happen? How can men be THAT retarded as to think that "No" means, "Oh, ok, instead of just being nice, I'm going to throw you against the bed, pin you down, and fuck you until I'm done and then leave you as mess and go relax and watch Sports Center." What's even more insane is that I have more friends that have been straight-out raped than girls I hang with that haven't. None of these girls share anything in common. Manners of dress, beliefs systems, recreational activities, nada. They're completely different people and yet they've all got this ONE thing in common. Currently, a girl I met last summer has been posting on her blog about her experiences being raped and the supporters of her experience in dealing with it have dubbed her a "survivor." I'm not sure how to take that label. She didn't survive it, she endured it and is now dealing with it. I just can't the image of a Holocaust Survivor when someone uses that label. Those are survivors of the worst variety because they lived through literal Hell and came out alive. I'm not a woman and I've never been raped, but I would say that the label of "victim" isn't appropriate, but there needs to be a better label than "survivor." They're not surviving the experience, they're surviving the fallout. The inability to trust people, the recluse behavior, the fits of depression and emotional outburst, etc. I'm not one to hand out labels. Maybe someone has an idea. It just makes me sick that it's come to this; that men can't take "no" for an answer and feel the need to just fuck'm until they can ignore the tears. I'm well aware of the occasional misunderstanding, but I've seen my guy friends get too drunk to understand the No means No vibe. It's a disturbing conundrum to think that you could be interacting with three women in a day and one of them has been raped. What the fuck...

*Myspace.com cannot stay out of the news. This is mostly because Myspace.com is another babysitter for the nation's youth that has gotten out of their control due to lack of understanding. First it was television and how parents would just plop their kids down in front of a glowing box and go about their daily self-involved crap. Then, one day, they saw some news story about what was on TV that their kids were watching. Violent programming? Sex on sitcoms? WHAT WHAT WHAT? How dare they! Next up was the video game revolution. Seems harmless just letting kids play Pong and Mario Bros. all day, right? Not with those evil Mortal Kombat games around, no no. Ripping out spines and burning alive ninjas is not the Christian way! This must be dealt with as well! Now, we're in the Myspace.com era. Oh dear god, will the news ever end their long-running story. Guess what? They're are sexual predators, identity thieves and prostitutes running around seeking to harm your children and they're all on Myspace.com!!!! Ok, for a second, let's stop and think about this for a second: if people would just take better care of their relationship with their kids, there would not be this problem. Fundamentally, this is the issue. Parenting sucks 'cause it's so damn hard. Gotta actually talk to your kids, be interested in their life, not judge them on their mistakes and disappointing behavior, actually keep track of them, sheesh!

*So a couple of people I know who were very much in love and were engaged and due to tie the knot have broken up just last week. I have a hard time really believing in relationships all of a sudden. I mean, by no means was this couple the perfect couple, but they were so in love that the codependance issues seemed to almost be moot. I just wish I could have a concrete example of a decent couple with which to believe in. The problem with coming from a divorced family has always been that the model for your own marriage usually comes from your own parents and if anyone who reads this knows mine, that's probably not going to work so well. Just a random thought.

I hope to get back on the horse of posting soon. I just really want to be talking about the good things instead of the bad. I know there are some and by no means am I sitting around mopey and depressed, but I really need a change that I can get excited about. Here's hoping.

posted by AmeroKafka @ 2:38 PM